


The Concept of Karma and Unluckiness

by RJam9



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Banter, Bonding, Custard Creams, Friendship, Gen, How Do I Tag, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Multiple Doctors (Doctor Who), Nicknames, Resorts, Vacations, bc I feel like they’d get along really well, but i need more 9 and 13 interacting, i think, team north!!, thats right motherfuckers I wrote a 9/13 meeting fic, this is so self indulgent, vaguely post timeless children but also not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24022123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RJam9/pseuds/RJam9
Summary: The Doctor is just trying to find Jack and Rose, not meet their future self at some stupid, and very boring, vacation resort. Well, it could be worse. At least they got some free custard creams out of it.
Relationships: Ninth Doctor & Jack Harkness & Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor & Thirteenth Doctor, Ninth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair
Comments: 8
Kudos: 118





	The Concept of Karma and Unluckiness

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone and welcome to my shit show!!
> 
> we need more 13 and 9 meetings in this fandom and if I have to write it myself then so be it.
> 
> also this was only suppose to be 1k words what happened.

Leave it to their companions to disappear at a resort.

To be fair, they didn’t exactly ‘run off’, this time. Rose had just wanted to try some of the ice cream this place offer, and Jack volunteered to go with her, as he wanted some too, so they left to go find the vendor and told them ‘back in ten minutes’! 

Which had been half an hour ago. They didn’t mind waiting by themself by the pool (they hadn’t gone in it, though Rose and Jack had tried many times to persuade them. They compromised by taking their jacket off and wearing a t-shirt instead.), but the two were easily distracted, especially in a place like this which was designed with bright flashy colours to try and get you to buy its souvenirs and upgrades.

So, after another few minutes of waiting, they put their jacket back on (yes, they kept it hidden under their chair. No, Rose and Jack did not know, and yes again, they refused to go anywhere without it.) and went off to find their companions.

They didn’t even really like resorts. The heat wasn’t really their thing — in this body, at least — and most resorts seemed based on that experience, relaxing by the pool and getting a tan while the sun slowly boils you over. And each one was filled with other annoying guests, constants ads to ‘book your VIP experience now!’ and the sound of way to many people crammed into a way to small space. 

Beside, there wasn’t even much to do besides swimming and eating and drinking, which they very much not wanted to do. The TARDIS was a few klicks away outside the resort, so they couldn’t pop inside and busy themself with repairs or reorganizing. Their hands were already itching to hold something other than a way too sugary drink or pool towel.

It was exhausting.

Besides, the only two who made this somewhat enjoyable were currently who knows where. They had been the ones to force this stupid ‘vacation’ on them in the first place. Humans version of vacation and theirs were very different — if they had been given a choice on where to relax for the week, they would have chosen to just stay in the TARDIS. Stars, Roses flat would have been better than this, even if Jackies cooking was terrible. At least it would have been cooler.

They did a sweep over where they had first found the ice cream vendor on their way to the pool that morning. It was in the courtyard towards the middle of the resort, which was one of the only calm places in the whole building. However, it was empty, save for a young couple making out on a bench (honeymoon, probably) so they passed through quickly.

Next was their rooms, which were small but adjoining, which was better then sharing because Jack snored like a Yeti. All three were empty, though they did cringe a little at the state of Roses room (they had only been there a few days, how was it so messy already?).

After that, they decided to just do a run through of the entire resort. It wasn’t one of the huge ones that you could book through the same company, but it would take all day to search it, which was a good excuse to avoid going back to the pool. The first floor was only the entrance and buffet, which they tended to avoid (way to busy and overcrowded, made their head hurt with all the voices), however, Rose and Jack might be there, as they had no qualms over the noise.

Stepping out of the elevator as it reached the floor, they were immediately greeted by an onslaught of noise. They were at the reception area, where everyone booked in or out. They grimaced when they saw two kids chasing eachother around the room, and people chatting aimlessly as they waited for their turn to speak with one of the many receptionist at the desks.

Shaking their head and trying to block out the noise, they headed towards the buffet. It was still early the morning, past breakfast but before lunch, so it would be a bit more calmer then normal, only filled with the late sleepers who had just woken up and were just getting food before the rush.

However, when they ducked into the hallway leading towards the buffet, everything went quiet. No clattering of dishes, no mindless chatter. Their face contorted inconfusion. It’s never this quiet. What was going on? 

Their question was answered when they approached the wide double doors leading inside. There was a message on the screen that usually displayed the specials, and it read that the buffet was closed due to ‘maintenance failure’ (most likely a fire. The alarms had gone off early that morning and woke everyone up, but it, apparently, turned out to be a false alarm.)

They deflated. A part of them hoped it was something more, maybe a mystery they could solve. That would be exciting, and make this trip a whole lot better. However, it was only one of the employees getting distracted, and they sighed in defeat.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

They turned to see someone coming down from the other end of the hallway. Human, they thought, and female. She had dark skin, and long hair tied up in a messy bun on top of her head. She wore a bathing suit cover, and skin was still damp and glistening. Just came from the pool, then.

“Buffets closed.” They replied. “Maintenance failure.”

The woman frowned. Well, she looked young. Around Roses age, when they thought about it. “Do you think it had to do with the fire alarm early?”

_Smart girl_.  They thought.

She spoke with a ... Yorkshire accent, if they focused on it. Probably from Earth, then. However, there was something about her that stuck out. She seemed perfectly normal — no augments, no crazy tech, meaning she was most likely from the 21st century or later. That made absolutely no sense, seeing as this place wasn’t established until Earth was way into its 27th.

Internally, they cheered.  _ Finally _ , something interesting to do.

“Most likely.” They replied, trying to keep the woman engaged. They turned and read the rest of the notice on the screen. “It says they moved it to the dining hall temporarily.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “That’s all the way on the tenth floor.”

They shrugged, and turned to start walking back towards the elevator banks, knowing the woman would follow. She did after a moment, sandals clacking on the tiled floor. However, it wasn’t until they had passed through the recipient area and they had hit the button for the elevator did she speak up.

“I’m Yasmin, by the way, but most just call me Yaz.” She informed with a polite smile. “Here with some of my mates.”

“That’s nice.” They replied. “I was here with some people took, but they left to go get icecream half an hour ago and didn’t come back. I’ve been trying to find them.”

The elevator dinged and the doors swooshed open, and they both stepped inside. Yaz hit the button for the tenth floor before turning to them again. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.” They replied. “Beside, I’m use to it. They wander off all the time, get distracted.”

Surprisingly, Yaz chuckled. “Yeah, one of my friends is like that. Can never seem to stay in one place for more then a few minutes. Been hell trying to keep them by the pool.”

They thought about Rose and Jack and their tries at getting them to relax, and cracked a smile. “Yeah, I think we all know someone like that.”

Luckily, they got to the tenth floor without any stops of picking up other people. The dining hall was really only used in the evening, for people only with the special dining packages (which was  _not_ them), so it was quite large and very fancy, with elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and pristine white table clothes over all the tables.

Right now, it had been converted into a somewhat buffet area. It was still pretty quiet — not quite noon yet — but it was getting busier. Them and Yaz jumped around an old couple to get inside, but a quick glance around showed Jack and Rose were absent.

“Hey, I think I see one of my friends over there.” She pointed out into the sea of tables, but they weren’t able to see who exactly she was pointing at through the chaos of people trying to find tables and getting food. “Wanna come eat with us?”

She was still an unsolved mystery, and currently the only thing making this day more interesting, so they replied. “Sure.” and followed her in line.

They only put a little bit of food on their plate (they didn’t really like the food here, too bland with weird textures) then waited at the end of the table for Yaz to finished. She smiled at them, then padded over to a table by the window. There was only one person at it, a boy, around her age, with dark skin and hair. He also wore a bathing suit, but had put a shirt on. 

“Hiya, Ryan.” She greeted as they got closer. “You bugger, I said I was gonna get you some food and bring it back up for you and Graham.”

“Yeah, well, you took to long.” Ryan shot back with a slight grin on his face. 

Like Yaz, Ryan looked human, and had the same Earth accent, but seemed completely 21st century. It baffled them. In their time period, humans hadn’t even been to all the planets in their solar system yet, so how they were at a resort on a alien vacation planet made no sense.

Yaz rolled her eyes as she sat down. “I didn’t realize it was closed downstairs.” 

“They put notes in our rooms this morning.” Ryan said. “Did you not get it?”

“No, I didn’t.” Yaz replied, annoyed. “The Doctor must have thrown it out.”

The Doctor?

Ah. That would explain it. Time travellers, then. With themself. They racked their brain trying to remember if they had ever been to this resort before, but came up at a dead end. They nearly sighed in relief — it must be a future version here then, they weren’t at fault.

Their companions seemed nice. However, it did make them think of Jack and Rose, and they felt their hearts tug slightly. They always knew the two would eventually leave them, but they just hoped these two weren’t their immediate predecessors.

“Who’s this?” Ryan asked, gesturing to them and breaking their train of thought. 

“Oh, we met downstairs. This is ...” Yaz trailed off and turned to look at them. “Actually, I never got your name.”

“Uh.” They panicked. “John. John Smith.”

Ryan snorted. “That’s a bit of a common name.”

They shrugged in lieu of replying. Yaz turned back to Ryan. “Where are the other two?”

“Still at the pool.” Ryan replied. “I was gonna find you and head back up there, after I finished eating.”

“Yeah, sure.” Yaz looked at them again. “You can sit down, you know.” 

Oh, yeah. They took the chair between the two humans when Yaz questioned them again. “Any ideas of where your friends might be?”

Carefully, and quickly, they weighed in their options. One was to leave, find Jack and Rose, and hopefully avoid their future self for the remainder of their days here. The second was to just bite the bullet and face their future self head on. Besides, they were kinda of wanting to know how they turned out. 

“No idea. But I left our stuff upstairs, so I should probably go get it before the lifeguard accuses us of hogging chairs.” They replied.

The other two both snorted. Ryan answered. “Yeah, happened to us too, a few days ago. Our one friend, the Doctor, was suppose to watch all our stuff while the rest of us went swimming, but they left to go get a sandwich and all our stuff got thrown in the lost and found bin.”

“I still haven’t found my sunglasses.” Yaz added wistfully.

The conversation carried on from there, mostly between Yaz and Ryan. Through listening (no,  _not_ eavesdropping), they learned that the future companions were travelling in a group of four, visiting through coupons. There was the Doctor, Yaz and Ryan, and Ryans grandad, Graham. 

Apparently, the Doctor had been ‘a handful’ over the few days they had been there, constantly wandering off into employee-only areas and even messing with the shower in Yaz and theirs shared room. The room staff, and Yaz, had not been very please. That made them chuckle to themself, because when they had first arrived at the resort they had debated taking apart the shower head as well.

By the time Yaz and Ryan had finished (they ate very quickly, then waited awkwardly with their empty plate), the lunch rush had arrived. They didn’t, however, have to put up with the chatter of the other guests for long as the two humans stacked their dishes neatly in the centre of the table, then stood up. Awkwardly, they followed in suit.

“Hey, John, I don’t think I ever asked you.” Yaz said as they followed her and Ryan around the growing line of people and out towards the elevator banks. It took them a beat to realize she was speaking to them. “What do your friends look like? And what are their names?”

“Well, there’s Rose.” They said. “Female, human, with blonde hair. And also Jack. Male, also human, but with brown hair.” They wondered if they should add more to their description — Timelords didn’t really pay attention to appearances, they identified each other telepathically. That was one of the few traits they kept all these years since running from Gallifrey — but Ryan giving them an odd look stopped them.

“Weird how you specified ‘human’.” The companion noted.

“There’s tons of different species here.” They replied as they reached the bank. One had just arrived with a crowd of people stepping off it, so they moved to the side to let them through before slipping into the elevator. “You can never be too sure, even if a species  appears humanoid.”

The elevator closed, leaving just the three of them. Yaz pushed the button for the pool floor. Ryan glanced at Yaz. “Do you think our room attendant is human? Because he was kinda of cute.”

“Most of the staff are human, yeah.” They stated. There was a moment of silence where they felt Yaz and Ryan exchange glances, then Yaz narrowed her eyes at them.

“You remind me of the Doctor a little big.” Yaz said, her voice laced with something akin to suspicious. 

They shrugged. “I have that face.”

The elevator dinged open, showing off the pool deck. The water sparkled in the light of the planets bright sun, the deck was glistening, and they could hear the squeal of excited children in the pool as the smell of chlorine hit their nose. Deck chairs were set up all around the pool, all filled with people tanning, napping and the works.

Yaz and Ryan did a beeline towards the left side of the pool and they followed, anticipation churning in their gut. Ignoring the way their stomach flipped at the thought of meeting their future self, they focused on the back of Yazs head as she chatted happily with Ryan.

Then the two stopped in front of four deck chairs, two occupied, and they nearly crashed into them. Both jumped at the noise of their shoes skidding on the deck, and Yaz turned around, face contorting in confusion.

“Oh. Uh, I thought you were getting your stuff?” She asked.

However, they didn’t answer, instead scanning the two people sitting the deck chairs. One was an older human male with grey hair, most likely Graham, but beside him is a small, female-looking being with pale skin and short, blonde hair eating a custard cream. Unlike the humans, they weren’t wearing a bathing suit, instead blue trousers cut off above the ankles and a grey t-shirt with with four stripes across the chest. Their coat is hidden under the chair.

Something twinged in the back of their mind, altering them that  ‘ _hey, this is your other self_.’

“Ah.” They mumbled, making everyone turn to them. The other Doctors eyes widen when they saw them.

“Oh.” The other Doctor said.

For a very long moment, they just stared at eachother. Brown-green eyes, pierced ears. They wondered how far down the line the self in front of them were from them — they don’t have many bodies left, after this once, so it can’t be that far away.

“Uh.” Yaz speaking snapped them from their thoughts, and both Doctors turned to look at her. “Everyone, this is John. We met downstairs. John, this is Graham,” the older man gave him a confused wave, “and the Doctor.”

They turned back to the other Doctor, who slowly grinned. They snorted, but rolled their eyes good naturally.

“You won’t actually believe this.” They said, feeling a smile threaten to come across their face. “But I’m actually the Doctor, too.”

“Really?” The other Doctor asked in a fake, disbelieving voice. “I would have never known.”

“Wait, what?” Ryan spoke up. 

“Yeah, what’a ya talking about, mate?” Graham added, in the same accent of the other two companions. “Care to explain, Doc’?”

The other Doctor sighed. “Well, remember how I told you guy about regeneration? Changing bodies, different faces, the works?”

“Of course we remember.” Yaz said with mild annoyance, crossing her arms. 

“Yeah, well — Banana Ears here is one of my past incarnations. I —“

“Banana Ears?” They interrupted, hand drifting up to touch the insulted body part. “Big talk for someone currently covered in the remains of a custard cream.”

“Respect your elders.” 

“Not when they’re covered in crumbs.”

“Hey, hey!” Yaz interjected. “Wait, won’t having two of the same person in one area cause like, a paradox or something?”

No wonder she was a companion, they reflected. Always asked the good question. However, the other Doctor answered instead. “Not really. As soon as we part ways, the younger incarnations forgets that the meeting happened, so no paradoxes are created.” They took a bite of their custard cream, then said through a mouthful. “Happens a lot more than you think, time travel and all.”

They rolled their eyes as the future self finished the desert, then grabbed another one from a tin under the chair, right next to their coat. After a moment, they grabbed two, then held one out to them. “Want one?”

“Sure.” They took it from them and flopped down in the empty deck chair between them and Graham. Rose and Jack could survive on their own for a little while longer, right? Not like they could leave the resort without checking out, and the line down there had been huge.

However, before they could take a bite, they noticed something. “Hey, this almost matches your hair colour.”

“It’s not even close.” Their other self retorted.

They lifted the cream to it was in line with their hair, trying to match the colours. “Custard Blonde.”

“Goth.”

“Shorty.”

“That ones low.”

“You insults my ears!”

“They’re huge, you have to admit that.”

“All this arguing and paradox talk is making my head hurt.” Yaz said, pulling her bathing suit cover up around her head then dumping it on one of the chairs. “I’m gonna go in the pool. Anyone care to join me?”

“No thanks.” Both Doctors said at the same time.

“Sure.” Ryan said quickly. Though he tried to hide it, it was obvious he wanted a break too. “Grandad?”

“Why not?” Graham stood up with a groan, joint popping. “Not wearing my speedos, but these trunks are fine too.”

“Ew.” That time they all said it. Custard, which was what they had decided to refer to the other Doctor as, wrinkled their nose in obvious disgust, and they felt themself cringe. However, Yaz started chuckling.

“What?” Custard asked.

“You guys just made the same face.” The human said with a smile. Them and their future self exchanged confused looks, but when both of them opened their mouths to retort all three had already started walking towards the water.

With all three humans gone, the two Doctors just stared out into the crowd of moving people. They finished their custard cream, wiped their hands on their jacket, but then Custards hand appeared by their face, already holding another one. They ate that one, too, thankful they didn’t eat much at the buffet.

“How many of these do you have?” They asked their future self handed them the third dessert.

“Too many.” They said. “I don’t like the food here, so I snuck into the TARDIS and stole a bunch. Basically all I’ve ate.”

“Glad to see my tastebuds haven’t changed.” They said. They finished the third, savouring the taste on their tongue, and reached under Custards chair to grab another.

“Hey, have you seen Rose and Jack everywhere?” They asked when they had found their prize and pulled back. 

Custard stilled. “They came a few minutes ago. They got their stuff. I think they were looking for you.”

They nodded, mindful of the way their future self faces had fallen. “Did you ... talk to them?”

“No.” They answered. Sensing the air around them drop, filled with longing, they cracked Custard a small smile.

”They went to go get icecream awhile ago, and I was looking for them, but ran into your companions instead.” They said. “Probably got distracted in the shops.”

“The shops are cool!” Custard exclaimed.

“Oh god, please don’t tell me I fell for one of the companies rip off schemes.” They said. Their future self glared at them.

“I never said I  _bought_ anything.” They said with as much dignity as they could muster. “They just look neat. They have bobble heads of the company mascot. It’s a bird.”

They rolled their eyes, but let the conversation drop when they finished their cream. Grabbing a fifth one, they jumped slightly when Custard spoke up again.

“You’ll find them on the fifth floor, at the art gallery.” 

“Are you saying that because that’s where the icecream is, or are you remembering being me?” They asked, frowning as they took a bite.

“Both.” They tucked a piece of blonde hair behind their ear, and they noticed how dirty and ragged it looked. Their hands looked scabbed and calloused, and they chewed on the inside of their cheek.

“Why are even here, then?” They asked. “You must remember being here, when you were me, why’d you come?”

“Graham collects coupons, including alien ones. This was the only time we could book.” They informed. “They all forced me to come.”

“Same.” They said, finishing off their fifth custard cream and fishing for a sixth. “Rose and Jack choose the resort, then made me book it. They said I don’t ‘relax enough.’ Not that I don’t like vacations, but this,” a gesture around at the beating sun, loud noises and overwhelming smell of chlorine, “is not it.”

Custard nodded. “Agreed. Much rather be in the TARDIS right now.” 

“Humans.” They muttered in annoyance, but with a hit of fondness, too. “Alway think they know what’s best.”

“Humans.” Their future self parroted with a slight smile.

They lapped into silence again, eating custard creams and watching as people passed by them. Yaz, Ryan and Graham were still in the pool — they could just see the top of their heads over the rim — and they only flinched a little bit when two young children ran by, giggling. Eating desserts with their future self, they found themself almost ... enjoying it all.

Well, until someone called their name.

“Doctor?” A female voice yelled over the thrumming of the other guests.

They glanced at Custard. “Is that one of yours or ...?”

“Doctor?” Male this time, a lot heavier and deeper then Graham or Ryan. 

“Huh, I guess they weren’t at the art gallery.” Their future self muttered.

“I think that’s my cue to leave.” They sighed and stood up, brushing their hands on their jacket and shaking crumbs off onto the chair. They shot Custard a grin. “Good thing, too. I just ate nine custard creams. That’s more than I’ve ate in my entire lifetime.”

“Get ready. You’ll love these things, eventually.” Their future self replied. After a second, they grabbled underneath their seat, and pulled out a dessert from the container. “Cream for the road? It’s the last one.”

They chuckled and took it, but slowly trailed off when they spotted Rose and Jack across the deck. Rose had her hair tied up, Jack had thrown on frankly outrageously garish sandals, and both their faces were sticky with icecream. They felt their heart sink, because their mind drifted to Yaz and Ryan and Graham. 

“Do they ... do they turn out okay?” They asked quietly. Custard avoided their gaze, instead staring at the floor.

“In the end.” They replied softly.

Once again, emotion hung thick in the air. They swallowed, and tore their gaze away from their companions to stare at their future self. They would forget this meeting, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t try to remember it. 

“I like the look, by the way. I’m excited to be you.” They said. “Even if your hair is the colour of custard cream.”

The other Doctor scoffed. “And I liked being you, even if your ears looked like bananas.”

They smiled. “Goodbye, Custard Blonde.”

“Goodbye, Banana Ears.”

With one final look at their future self, with their jagged hair and pale skin and hidden coat, they turned and padded away. 

They jumped around the other guests, heading towards where Rose and Jack were just about to head back inside. Feeling themself smile, they shook themself free of crumbs and walked a little bit quicker.

“There you guys are! I’ve been looking all over for you.” 

Their humans spun around, but their faces spilt into grins when they saw them. “We weren’t gone long.” Jack said.

“I waited half an hour after you guys left to get icecream, then I went searching for you.” They replied.

Rose rolled her eyes. “You’ll forget to sleep when your doing repairs on the console, but then you can’t wait half an hour for us to get back.”

“Well, what took you so long, anyway?” They asked instead of shooting back another witty remark. 

“Well, they were selling bowls of icecream at the stand, so we were gonna get you one.” Rose answered. “But we couldn’t decide on what flavour you would like.”

“What were the options?”

“Salted caramel or mint chip.”

“Salted caramel.” 

“See, I told you!” Jack exclaimed. Rose glared at him.

“Well, I only assumed —“

“Hey, wait, is that a custard cream?” Jack suddenly asked, pointing at their hand. Looking at him in confusion, they looked at their hand, and yes — they were holding a custard cream. Oh. When had they gotten that?

“I didn’t know you liked those.” Rose commented.

“Yeah, I don’t - I don’t remember where I got this.” They said, staring at the desert. Despite it being in their hand, they could almost taste it in their mouth.

“Getting forgetful in your old age, Doctor?” Jack teased.

“I’ll have you know I’m only 900!” They exclaimed, tearing their gaze away. “That’s young compared to Timelord standards.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Rose patted them condescendingly on the shoulder. They rolled their eyes and shook her off, feeling their hearts brighten at her laughter. “Come on, then. I think the cart is still open. Let’s go get your salted caramel.”

They followed Rose and Jack towards the elevators, once again staring at the custard cream. After a moment, they took it bite. Huh, it wasn’t that bad. Better than the food at the buffet. Maybe they should try to remember where they got it, and go get some more. They were sure their companions were like them.

Rose and Jack started arguing over icecream flavours again, and they grinned despite themself. This ‘vacation’ might be boring and loud and a whole lot of other unpleasant words, but with them by their side, it started to be looking up.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this while functioning on two hours of sleep so please point out any spelling/grammar mistakes you see bc there’s probably some somewhere.
> 
> thanks for reading I guess


End file.
